So, you’ve got your business plan, you have all your social media handles picked out and accounts opened. This is it! How exciting! You’re sitting there in front of your macbook, or on your phone, ready to create your first post…. but, what do you post? There are so many things you can and will say to obtain, grow, and create meaningful relationships with your tribe.

You probably have a pretty good idea of the types of things you will need to post in order to create a dialogue and keep the interest of your followers, but what about what you shouldn’t post?

7 Social Media Mistakes

Flooding the Stream || We get it. You’re excited about your new venture, new product, new service. We are excited for you! Don’t just flood the stream with random “about” posts, though. Show us what you’re doing in your business, but make it something your audience cares about. Interact. Use a call to action, ask a question, encourage dialogue. Respond authentically. Your audience will grow and appreciate your sincerity.

Getting Religious or Political || Unless your niche is religion or politics, this is pretty much a no-no. By broadcasting your personal beliefs avidly to your audience, you run a huge risk of alienating some of them. Granted, some “small town” businesses actually benefit from this (I’m thinking about small businesses that were in the rural area where I grew up, and church was the hub of everything.. however, social media didn’t really have a presence back then and still does not have a major one in that area, now). There are appropriate times to share, such as “I voted” sticker posts or sending a prayer/well wish to a customer or fellow entrepreneur… tasteful spurts of personal belief are welcomed, but please do not try to recruit your followers to your political party or religious association.

Bad-mouthing the Competition || Never, ever, I mean, ever, tweet out or post something negative about your competition. Unless you’re Wendy’s, this will not work. It makes you look petty, and unprofessional.

Arguing with customers || EVEN IF YOU ARE RIGHT. Do not use social media to argue with your customers or clients. You always want to present your best foot forward, and good social media presence is a huge part of the trust experience for customers. Apologize for the inconvenience, and see what you can do to right the wrong. It might be a little painful for your ego at times, but others will see your incredible customer service and the client will have nothing to be able to complain about.

Getting too Personal || This one is similar to being too religious or political… If you like to use social media to joke around with friends, make sure you have a separate social media account for that. Your clients and customers will always enjoy a peek into your personal life (office space, a delicious meal at a local restaurant, styled shoots, etc). They do not need to see pics of you at the bar #getlit or your snarky tweet aimed at your old college pal. Just sayin’ …. keep it classy.

Allowing Access to the Wrong Person || You hopefully trust your employees. But really consider how much you do trust their ability before turning over access to your social media accounts. If you have too much going on to really make an impact on your social media platforms, consider contracting that part of your job out to a Social Media Manager. A professional that will research your niche and trade, and lay out a schedule of posts that are aligned to your image versus an employee that maybe is not as passionate about your business as you are.

Forgetting Your Social Media Accounts Exist || I see this all the time. Business owners create accounts on all social media platforms, post a couple of times, and then totally forget the account even exists. Even worse, a few weeks or months or even a year goes by and the business owner decides to get back to social media… they forgot their password and end up creating all new accounts. This is confusing for your client base and possible future leads. Keep a notebook or a digital note on your phone with all your social media account usernames and passwords.

Keep these social media don’ts in mind when you’re creating your next post, or contemplating joining that new social media network. Pick one or two platforms you understand and enjoy and stick with those until you’re ready to hire a Social Media Manager or feel confident that you can maintain multiple accounts appropriately, at once!

Do you have any social media mistakes to share? I’d love to hear them! You can find me on Facebook and Instagram!

Owning and running your own business involves a lot of work and networking. For many, the difficult part is what is done behind the keyboard: SEO, content, photo editing. I have found recently, however, many small business owners are really comfortable creating and maintaining their own website and content (or paying a developer to do it for them)… and what they really need help with is being social outside of social media.

Lucky for you, I love being social and I love growing my professional network, so I have compiled a list of my top 5 “IRL” networking tips! These actions have been invaluable to me in the past, and helped me grow my brand immensely when I owned my own photography business. The following networking tips also helped me when I was an events coordinator for a non-profit company as well.

1. Your chamber of commerce is the place to be. Typically your local chamber will have 2-4 monthly networking opportunities sponsored by them, and they will also provide lists of other events being sponsored by businesses that are members of the chamber. For instance, my chamber has a monthly large breakfast gathering with a guest speaker, a monthly casual breakfast “club” for networking quickly on the way to your job, several network groups that are affiliated with the chamber and meet there on specific days, lunch meetings for networking, and plenty of other gatherings as well. You do usually have to be a member to participate, but most will work out a payment plan if you cannot pay the full membership fee at once. Memberships usually come with some advertising on your behalf included, so why wouldn’t you jump on that?!

2. Volunteer. Yeah, that’s right. I am a member of the Junior League in my city and I have met so many wonderful women! Volunteering leaves me fulfilled in a way many things can't, and it also introduces me to several new people. Click To Tweet When you meet someone new, you always share the basics about yourself: name, occupation, usually age or something else generic but interesting. Finding a common ground is the norm, and when someone new learns what you do, chances are they know someone that could use your services. Don’t try to sell the person, but make a personable, lasting impression and they’ll remember your name when your niche comes up later.

3. Lunch and Learn Classes. This may sound scary but it can be so fun. Reach out to your local corporations and small businesses in the area, and offer to teach a lunch and learn class. The class doesn’t need to cover everything your do in your profession, but maybe just one or two skills the employees will find valuable and go in-depth. You can also do this as a class at your local library. For instance, if your niche is graphic design, you could hold a class at the library for small business owners looking to expand their social media outreach. Teach them how to use something simple like canva.com or another app to create appealing, significant social media posts. They can do this easily and on their own, they’ll see your skillset, and learn about the services you offer. When they’re ready to upgrade their web presence, or their print ads, you’ll be fresh on their minds!

4. Focus on creating meaningful relationships. This is my favorite method of networking, by far. I am a cancer, I crave meaningful interactions and love and acceptance (and appreciation!). Giving love to others also sets me on fire. Click To Tweet So, just do it. There are places that you frequent often and love fiercely, I’m sure. For me, one of those spots is my gym. It is not just any regular gym, it is a very niche gym. Ok, its an aerial yoga and pole studio. Seriously, I love it. I spend every extra minute I can spare, in that space. I love the owner, I love the instructors, I love the vibe, the energy, the supportive classmates I’m slowly calling my friends. I don’t work for this studio, but I promote their classes and location and workshops like I do. I probably share their info just as much as the instructors do (unless they use an unflattering video of me for the ad, then, sorry, nope. HA!). So for me, this is a meaningful relationship I’ve created and the studio owner has expressed sincere gratitude for my referral of her studio to my pretty large following. I know that at a later date, when the subject comes up, she will recommend me as a social media manager or consultant for her fellow entrepreneurs and small business owners.

5. Refer, Refer, Refer. This one is simple. Find local shops you love, local businesses you believe in, and refer the heck out of them. Example: my friend is a realtor. Every day on social media or in person, someone I know mentions needing to buy, sell, or rent a home. I comment her info or hand over her card. She has put me in two homes where we live and I love her deeply for her patience and understanding. When I found my dream house, my husband wasn’t convinced, so she got the keys for me for the 15th time to do another walkthrough.. only she helped me make a video in every single room where my daughters and I explained our family vision to him. In EVERY.SINGLE.ROOM. All four bedrooms, five bathrooms, two living areas, dining room, kitchen, gym, and bar. It was a fun, long experience but hey, we won him over and we are raising our family in our dream home! Worth IT! I love telling that story when I am referring to her. In turn, she refers to me as well. Bonus: celebratory coffee dates when the referrals lead to business!

The Sometimes Writer

Wife, Mother, Crazy bestie for the restie. Lover of tacos and boat beer. I like to travel, take pictures, eat, workout, and spend time in my community helping where I can. My husband and kids are the center of my universe!